Automatic gas valve



April 1s :1924. 1,490,287

v L. H. MoRsE i Au'roMATic GAS VALVE Filed mamas, '1922 lllllllllh A Iwveiafoww yam HMoi/se Patented Apr. l 5,` l 9224.

i meager STATES i PATE NT orties,

LYNN M. MORSE, OEEATTCK, MAssACHUsETTs, Assieme TO'AUTOMATTCGAS VALVE COMPANY, OT BOSTON, MAssACifrUsETTs', i CORPOEATTON'OE MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC 1 ess VALVE.

Appueatin Elea november 2e, 1922. serial 110,604,117.

To all whom t may com/'ewa' A K Be it known that I, LYNN I-I. MORSE, a citizenof the United States, and a resident -of Natick, in the county of Middlesex andl a Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Automatic Gas Valves, of which the following descriptioml connection .withvthe accompanying drawthe drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to automatic gas' valves, and more particularly to valves which kare interposed between the main or l service pipe and thegasmetenand so con-j 215 structed as to cutoff the' supply Of/gas from the service pipe `in case. Ofan abnormal rise -intemperature, such nas would result from lire'in the vicinity of the meter.

' In the herein described embodiment fof V the invention,l such valve comprisesa v'alvc member, preferably in the for-m'of a ball,

'heldfsuspended in `a fittingbetween the service pipe and themeterand 'directlyover the mouth of the r pipe or conduit leading to the meterfthe valve-memberbeing fastened by Ysome fusible means. suchassolder. having a relatively low melting" point and `susceptible toan'abnormal rise in temperature sovthat, in case cf lire, thefball isde-y O-tached and drops on `a valvejseatwhich is formed the Aopen mouth ofvtheqconduit, *thereby shutting off the flow 'of gasto the meter. Y A. Y i VThe OrdinaryT connection *between the service pipe, andthe `meter inlet Y provides a convenient location for suchy a ball valve, )andthe removable plug in the vtop of `such T-connection provides' va member tri-which` theball'may be conveniently attachedbyk-its fusible 'connection f the use of such a valve; While itn is necessary -that the valve shall act withcertainty under the inuence of-abnormal heat, it' is equally desirable that it shall not act ex-f --showing'an installation embodyingl one form cept lin case of fire. The attachment of the 'ball through its fusible connection should "'be', mechanically Vsecure so1. as t 'o vinsure V` againstv yits `dislod'gm'ent from the feiectY of extraneous `jars 'or vibrations. `i Moreover,

.'fectedgby corrosion. i

y. stand severe jars or shocks. ings, 1s a speciicatlon,` like characters on-Vy Y'riorly Vthreaded shell-like member closed'atf its outer Lend Vand provided with a squared tip to receive a wrench. Where such Ya form `of plug has been employed as a support for a ball-shaped valve memberV the jgle lineof contact and is attached theretoV Veither by a vring of fusible solder or by a vmass ,of solder filling the entire cavity. AThe soldering'of a ball to a threaded plug of vthis description, particularly where a cast iron plug anda steel ball are used, is

not only a slow and relatively expensive operation, but the strength Vof the 'fastening leaves ituncertain asfto whether the ball, f after the plug'has been'installed, will not drop 'fromits seat under some sudden blow y which the pipe may receive as an incident and this'weakness is apt to becomeimore marked under the corrosive action which Vfollows long usage.y If-corroded,` the ball,

not accurately fit the Vtion is to greatly cheapenand` facilitate the manufacture of Vsuch` valvesand toY vastly *i increase the strength of the fusible fastening so Vas Vto render it'practically immune rvagainst ordinary mechanicalrshocks `and to protectthek valve' and its Iattachment against corrosion while maintaining such an attach-V ment as Ypermits the ballto drop with certainty from itsV support lwhenever the predetermined temperature is reached.

NThe invention will. be best lunderstood from the* following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, 'while itsl scope will be more particularly pointed outinthefappended claims.

In the"drawings, i z Fig. l is an elevation partly n1n section 'O'ftherntehy Y Fig.' 2 vis a sectional elevation of theV threaded plug shown in'Figl whichA acts as a support for the ball valve; and the ballfand'thefasteningshouldnotr be afi "-attachedsto Fig. 3 shows the ballvalve seated in and 'the threaded `plug shown in IReferring* .tovithe drawings and `*first to Ato its installation' or 'in subsequent service,

l the general purpose of the invention, for the purposes of illustrationI have shown the main or vservice pipe 5 for supplying gas g to the kmeter through the pipe 9 and T connection 11, all these fittings beingof `the common and usual construction. upper end of the T 11 thereis secured a plug 13 to which thereis fastened, as hereinafter described, the ball valve 1V, the attachment ,being by" means of solder fusible at a low @degree of heat. In case offire thelsolder melts and :thefball drops ,byigravity to its seat in the'op'en. mouthof the pipe 9, closing the passagethereto'and[preventing any further flovvof gas from the service pipe 5 to y the meter 7., v

' k'Any heavy, `indestructible material may kbe used for the ball, but it preferably of meta-land also preferablyof steel, since ac- Ycuratelyshaped steel balls of any dimensions n. may be readily obtained. The 'plug 13 may i also.be offany suitablehmaterial, but for cheapnessit is preferably made of cast iron.

To provide a fastening betvveenl the balland vplug lWhich Will function only When and as required, the innert' endU ofv the'plug is formed Withaconcave seat 17 which accurately fits the surface of the'iballl -151 For best -iresultsathis'should fit Within one-,one-

hundredth of'an inch so-that lthe two'parts may be unitedbygan extremely' thin film only V- of the solder but'extending over a considerable area. Through the yaccurate fit and thin film of vsolder the mechanical"strengthv yof thek ljoint isfgreatly increased and, at

the same time, the valve functions With more certainty.

` Vhere iron k'parts arey fastened*V together, such a'sther steel balland the cast iron` plug,

I preferably give the "surface rw,of each plug' Yand ball Which'are designed to `contact with each other, a coating of some kind'vvhich Will facilitate soldering;` I :have found that by velectro-plating both .the cast iron plug and "steel ball, thereis notonly provided a surface for each rmember,"v'vehich greatly facilitates they soldering,` but italso provides a substantially non-corrosive surface for these arts. f. pf After the plug 13, 'shaped asf shovvn in Fig'. 2, has been vpipe-threaded at 21 and has been subjected 'to'somef such' actionas a sand blastA preparatory to, electro-plating, it is then' 'electro#plated,-and `preferably copper yplated,-to give it a very.v thin copper f plated surface.'`r The steel'ball 15V having'been rsimilarly'co'pper plated, the parts arev then ready for attachment. 1A"relati'vely thin kplating,"- one one-thousandth of-aninch for example, 'will'wv ordinarily, sufce, although thickerfplatingsmay be used. c

. i. With the partstlius prepared I found that'l f theyg'f'may be rapidly and inexpensively soldered and an unusuallyrstrong' fastening secured by the followingproces'srf The'plugs arejfirst placed in rows, With the concave side up, on a rack, table or traveling apron. A very small amount of solder 23, together with a small amount of acid, or other suitable flux, is placed in the bottom of each Into thel Vclosely fitting seat, squeezing the solder into a very thin film covering the entire surface of the seat. As the ball cools and the solder hardeus, the latter is in theform of an extremely thin film, firmly uniting the'ball over the entire area of the part which fits Within vthe correspondingly shaped seat. Any solder fusible at the required tempera-V- ture may be employed, the temperature commonly taken for this purpose being about 15599 Under the'weight of the ball, however, the temperatureA at Which the valve functions' will be less than the melting point Tof thesolder, and in a valve constructed as described yWith solder having a fusing point of 155, the valve will drop When the temperature of substantially 130 is reached.

Thefunctioning of the valve under the influence of heat is rendered kmore accurate by the `described construction,for the Asolder beingpresent in' an'extremely thin Abetween the closely adjacent bodies of thesteel ball Vand the cast iron plug fuses instantaneously when the temperature of the plug 'or ball reaches the melting point of lthe solder.

Through the described process of; constructing the plug and the valve, a fusif ble attachment is secured which is many times stronger in its resistance to mechanical shocks lthan that heretofore employed and the valve and its attachment is'substantially impervious to corrosive action.

While I have herein shown and described for purposes of illustration one specific'embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that it is not limited tothe details of f procedure-v and construction herein" specifically` described.

Claims Y An lautomaticv gas valveV attachment 'comprising a gas voutlet presenting a valve seat 'adapted to be closed by a ball valve, a

gasirlet, a ball valve normallyi held'above said seat, said attachmentcomprising also a support for said valve presentingl a "concave seatconforming substantially to the'shape of the ball and in which a substantial part of the balll is seated, said ball being firmly attached and closely adherent to the walls of said seat through a thin film of fusible material, whereby the connection is sensitively responsive to a fusin heat to cause the ball to drop to its seat whilebeing normally held effectively against dislodgment due to mechanical shocks.

2. An automatic gas valve attachment comprising a gas outlet presenting a valve seat adapted to be closed by a ball valve, a gas inlet, and an electro-plated metallic ball valve normally held above said seat, said attachment comprising also a support for said valve presenting a concave seat conforming substantially to the shape of the ball and in which a substantial part of the ball is seated, said ball being firmly attached and closely adherent to the walls of said seat through a thin film of fusible material, whereby the connection is sensitively responsive to a fusing heat to cause the ball to drop to its seat while being' normally held effectively against Y dislodgment due to mechanical shocks.

3. An automatic gas valve attachment comprising a T-connection and presenting a gas outlet having a valve seat adapted to be closed by a ball valve, a gas inlet,` a threaded metallic plug for the end of the T opposite the outlet, a ball valve normally held above said seatthe lower end of said vplug presenting a concave seat conforming substantially to the shape of the ball and in which a substantial part of the ball is seated, said ball being firmly attached and closely adherent to the walls of said seat by a thin 

